How is a studio monitor different from a regular speaker?

A studio monitor has the flattest possible frequency response — it reveals the sound as it truly is, without flattering bass or treble. A consumer speaker intentionally colours the sound for pleasant listening. A monitor is a decision-making tool for mixing and mastering.

Active or passive studio monitors?

Active is the standard: built-in amplifier optimised for the drivers, DSP correction, simpler connection (signal cable only). Passive monitors require an external amplifier but offer more flexibility in amp choice. For most studios — active.

Do I need a studio subwoofer?

For mixing bass-heavy music (EDM, hip-hop, film) — yes. A 5-inch monitor typically plays from 50–60 Hz, but bass content can reach 20–30 Hz. A sub extends the range. For speech, podcasts, or acoustic music — usually not needed.

How should I position studio monitors?

Equilateral triangle: the distance between monitors equals the distance from each monitor to the listener's head. Tweeters at ear level. Monitors angled 30° from centre (60° between them). At least 20–30 cm from the rear wall. Acoustic treatment of the room is critical.

Studio Monitors — Buy at SoundsGood

Q: What woofer size should I choose?

Depends on room size. 3–5 inches — small rooms, home studios. 6–8 inches — medium rooms, professional studios. 8+ inches or midfield — large control rooms. An oversized monitor in a small room will cause bass problems due to room modes.

Q: What is a coaxial monitor?

A coaxial monitor has the HF driver mounted at the centre of the LF woofer (or behind it). Both transducers act as a single point source. Result: ideal phase coherence, precise stereo image, and less sensitivity to listening position. Considered the most accurate monitor type.

Studio monitors are speakers engineered for the flattest possible frequency response — accurate mixing, mastering, and production. They reveal the sound as it truly is, without flattery. Nearfield, midfield, and main monitors. Active with DSP, coaxial, 2-way, 3-way. From compact 3" units for home studios to premium mastering monitors. SoundsGood offers studio monitors for every level — beginner to professional.

🎛️Accurate Sound
Flat response for mixing

📦Free Shipping
Orders over ₴4,000

💳Installment Plans
PrivatBank / monobank

🎯Expert Advice
Matched to your room

🎛️ Studio Monitors: What They Are & Who Needs Them

A studio monitor is a speaker designed for accurate, uncoloured audio reproduction. Unlike consumer Hi-Fi speakers that intentionally boost bass or treble for pleasant listening, a monitor has a flat frequency response. This lets the engineer hear every flaw, every nuance — and make the right decisions during mixing and mastering.

🎵 Mixing

The primary use — balancing instruments, panning, EQ, dynamics. A flat response reveals the true frequency balance. If a mix sounds good on studio monitors, it will translate everywhere. Nearfield monitors are the mixing standard.

🏆 Mastering

Final processing demands maximum detail and resolution. Mastering monitors are premium-class: the flattest response, the lowest distortion, extended bass. Coaxial or 3-way. An acoustically treated room is mandatory.

🎬 Post-Production & Multimedia

Video editing, podcasts, streaming, game dev, sound design. Accurate speech and effects reproduction. For video — a subwoofer is often needed (LFE channel). For podcasts — compact 4–5" monitors are sufficient.

🔊 Nearfield Monitors

The most popular type — the standard for the majority of studios.

📐 Design

Compact 2-way: 4"–8" LF woofer + 0.75"–1.5" HF tweeter (dome or waveguide). Active: bi-amped (separate amps for LF and HF), Class D or AB. DSP with room correction, EQ filters, limiter. Bass-reflex (ported) or sealed enclosure. Weight: 3–15 kg each.

📊 Specifications

Power: 30–200 W per channel (bi-amp). Frequency: 40–35,000 Hz (8") or 55–25,000 Hz (5"). SPL: 96–112 dB. Listening distance: 0.8–2.0 m. Inputs: XLR (balanced), TRS 6.3 mm, RCA (budget). Some feature AES/EBU, S/PDIF, USB.

🎯 Best For

Mixing in small to medium rooms (10–30 m²). Home studios, project studios, professional studios (as the main pair or A/B pair). 90% of all mixing sessions happen on nearfields. Placed on a desk or stands, 0.8–1.5 m from the listener.

📏 Midfield Monitors

📐 Design

Larger cabinets: 6.5"–10" LF woofer + HF, often 3-way (LF + MF + HF). More powerful amplifiers (100–500 W per band). Deeper bass (from 35 Hz). Often sealed enclosure or passive radiator for tighter bass. DSP with extended correction. Weight: 10–30 kg each.

📊 Specifications

Power: 100–500 W (total). Frequency: 32–40,000 Hz. SPL: 108–118 dB. Distance: 1.5–3.0 m. Less sensitivity to room modes (compared to nearfield at longer distances). Often on dedicated stands or soffit-mounted.

🎯 Best For

Medium to large control rooms (25–60 m²). When nearfield monitors lack volume or bass extension. As the main pair for mixing at a greater distance. For checking low frequencies without a subwoofer. Mastering studios.

🏟️ Main Monitors (Soffit)

📐 Design

Large 3-way systems: 10"–15" LF + 5"–8" MF + HF. Power: 500–2,000+ W. Often soffit-mounted (flush in the wall) to minimise diffraction and room reflections. Some use external amplifiers. Weight: 30–100+ kg each.

📊 Specifications

Power: 500–2,000+ W. Frequency: 20–40,000 Hz (full range without sub). SPL: 118–130+ dB. Distance: 3–6+ m. Linear phase. FIR filters. Minimal distortion at high SPL.

🎯 Best For

Large professional studios, mastering suites, film post-production. When full-range output from 20 Hz at high SPL without compression is required. Soffit mount — reference-grade monitoring. Requires a precisely designed, acoustically treated room.

🎯 Coaxial Monitors

📐 Design

The HF driver is mounted at the centre of the LF woofer (concentrically). Both transducers form a true point source. Ideal time and phase coherence across all frequencies. No "crossover zone" with phase artefacts between separate drivers.

📊 Specifications

LF sizes: 5"–8" (nearfield) or 10"+ (midfield). Ideal impulse response. Precise stereo image and phantom centre. Less sensitivity to listening position (wider "sweet spot"). Some feature a waveguide for controlled dispersion.

🎯 Best For

Mastering, critical listening, surround monitoring (where every monitor must be identical), small rooms (less positional dependency). Premium segment. Considered the most accurate type of studio monitor.

💥 Studio Subwoofers

📐 Design

Active subwoofer with a 7"–12" LF driver. Built-in amplifier 100–500 W. DSP with crossover, bass management, phase control. Some feature satellite management (high-pass outputs for the monitors). Sealed or bass-reflex enclosure.

📊 Specifications

Frequency: 20–120 Hz (crossover-dependent). Power: 100–500 W. SPL: 100–118 dB. I/O: XLR (balanced). Crossover: adjustable 50–150 Hz. Phase: 0°–180° (some — continuously variable). Weight: 10–30 kg.

🎯 Best For

Extending the bass of nearfield monitors (especially 4"–6"). Mixing bass-heavy music: EDM, hip-hop, film, games. 2.1 system (stereo + sub). Surround systems (LFE channel). Important: proper crossover and phase alignment — otherwise the sub will degrade the sound.

⚡ Studio Monitor Technology

🧠 DSP & Room Correction

Built-in DSP with parametric EQ, room filters (desk dip, wall proximity, HF/LF shelving). Some feature mic-based auto-calibration (measures the response at the listening position and corrects it). FIR filters for linear phase. Room presets. App control.

🔊 Driver Materials

LF cones: Kevlar, aluminium, polypropylene, composites (carbon, glass fibre). Each has its own character: Kevlar — warm, aluminium — precise, polypropylene — neutral. HF tweeters: silk dome, aluminium dome, AMT (Air Motion Transformer), ribbon. AMT and ribbon — fastest, most detailed.

🔌 Amplifier Types

Class AB — classic, warm sound, lower efficiency (50–65%). Class D — modern, high efficiency (85–95%), less heat, more power. Class G/H — hybrid (rail-switching). Some premium monitors use Class A on HF for minimal distortion.

📏 Enclosure Types

Bass-reflex (ported) — port extends bass, but less accurate at the low end. Sealed (closed) — tighter bass, faster transient response, but less extension. Passive radiator — a compromise: deeper than sealed, tighter than ported. Choice depends on the task: mixing — sealed/passive, casual listening — bass-reflex.

🔌 Connectivity

🔷 Analogue

XLR (balanced) — the studio monitor standard. Immune to interference, long cable runs (up to 100 m). TRS 6.3 mm (balanced) — an XLR alternative. RCA (unbalanced) — on budget models, for home studios. Always choose balanced if possible.

🔷 Digital

AES/EBU (XLR, digital) — the professional standard. S/PDIF (coaxial or optical) — consumer digital. USB — direct input from a computer (built-in DAC). Dante / AES67 — networked audio for large studios. Digital connection eliminates an extra analogue stage.

🔷 Wireless

Bluetooth — on some models for casual listening (not for mixing due to latency). Wi-Fi (AirPlay, Chromecast) — for multimedia. For critical monitoring — wired only (XLR or AES).

📐 Placement & Calibration

📏 Positioning

Equilateral triangle: the distance between monitors equals the distance from each monitor to the listener's head. Tweeters at ear level. Angle: 30° from centre (60° between monitors). At least 20–30 cm from the rear wall (more for rear-ported designs). Symmetrical relative to side walls.

🔇 Acoustic Treatment

The most important factor is the room. Without treatment, even the best monitors give a false picture. Minimum: absorbers at first reflection points (side walls, ceiling), bass traps in corners, diffusers on the rear wall. Measure with a mic + software (REW, Sonarworks).

🧱 Surface Isolation

A monitor on a desk transmits vibration into the surface, colouring the sound. Solutions: isolation pads (foam, rubber), dedicated desktop stands, or floor stands. Stands are better than a desk (fewer surface reflections). Tilt angle — aim the tweeter at your ear.

📊 Studio Monitor Type Comparison

Type	LF Driver	Distance	Room	Bass From	Best For
Nearfield	4"–8"	0.8–2.0 m	10–30 m²	40–60 Hz	Mixing, home studio
Midfield	6.5"–10"	1.5–3.0 m	25–60 m²	32–45 Hz	Professional studio
Main / Soffit	10"–15"	3–6+ m	50–150+ m²	20–35 Hz	Mastering, film
Coaxial	5"–10"	0.8–3.0 m	10–60 m²	35–55 Hz	Mastering, surround

Parameter	Active	Passive
Amplifier	Built-in (bi-amp)	External
DSP	Built-in	No
Connection	XLR signal + AC	Speaker cable
Simplicity	Easier	More involved
Flexibility	Less	More (amp choice)
System Cost	Usually lower	Monitor + amp = higher

🎯 How to Choose a Studio Monitor

🏠 Home Studio (Small Room)

Nearfield 4"–5". Sealed enclosure — fewer bass issues in a small room. Acoustic panels — essential. Isolation pads. Entry-level budget. Add a subwoofer later if deeper bass is needed.

🎵 Project Studio (Medium Room)

Nearfield 6"–8". Bass-reflex or passive radiator. DSP with room correction. On stands or desktop stands. Subwoofer — for EDM/hip-hop. Acoustic treatment: at least absorbers + bass traps. Best quality-to-price ratio.

🏢 Professional Studio

Nearfield 8" as the main pair + midfield or coaxial as reference. Possibly 3-way. DSP with auto-calibration. AES/EBU or Dante. Full acoustic treatment. Subwoofer for 2.1 or LCR+Sub.

🏆 Mastering Suite

Coaxial or 3-way midfield/main. Flattest possible frequency and phase response. Linear phase (FIR). Lowest distortion (THD <0.5%). Full range from 25 Hz. Perfect room acoustics. Premium budget.

🎬 Post-Production / Video

Nearfield 5"–6" + subwoofer (for LFE). For surround — a 5.1/7.1 system of identical monitors. Accurate speech intelligibility. DSP with delay for channel alignment. Dante for complex routing.

🎙️ Podcast / Streaming

Compact 3"–5" monitors. USB input — direct from the computer. Or Bluetooth — for casual monitoring. Budget segment. Isolation pads. Acoustic treatment — desirable but not critical for speech.

🎧 Beatmaker / Producer

Nearfield 5"–8" + subwoofer (bass is critical for beats). DSP. Sealed or passive radiator — accurate bass. Cross-check mixes on monitors + headphones + consumer speakers. TWS headphone check.

🎮 Game Dev / Sound Design

Nearfield 5"–6" + subwoofer. Accurate spatial effect reproduction. For immersive audio — an Atmos system (5.1.4 or 7.1.4) of identical monitors. Dante/AVB for routing. DSP with delay.

❓ FAQ

How is a studio monitor different from a speaker?

A monitor has a flat frequency response — it reveals sound without flattery. A consumer speaker colours the sound for pleasant listening. A monitor is a decision-making tool for mixing and mastering.

What woofer size should I choose?

3"–5" — small rooms. 6"–8" — medium. 8"+ — large. An oversized monitor in a small room causes bass problems due to room modes.

Active or passive?

Active is the standard: built-in amplifier, DSP, simpler connection. Passive offers more flexibility but requires an external amp. For most studios — active.

Do I need a subwoofer?

For bass-heavy music (EDM, hip-hop, film) — yes. For speech, podcasts, acoustic music — usually no. A sub extends a 5" monitor's bass from 50 Hz down to 25 Hz.

What is a coaxial monitor?

The HF driver sits at the centre of the LF woofer — a true point source. Ideal phase coherence. The most accurate monitor type. For mastering and critical listening.

How should I position my monitors?

Equilateral triangle: the distance between monitors equals the distance to the listener. Tweeters at ear level. 30° angle from centre. Isolation pads. Room treatment is critical.